News in Maldon

Following news yesterday (19 October) that Essex County Council has asked for all pupils and adults to wear face masks when moving round schools, the principal of Maldon's Plume Academy has reassured parents, carers and students on the matter.

Executive Principal Carl Wakefield said: "Plume Academy brought in the compulsory wearing of face coverings five weeks ago and at the start of the time key measures started to show an upward trajectory. This was after discussions involving all of the academy's stakeholders; a key element of our practice throughout the lockdown period.

Pupils and all adults in Maldon's schools have been asked to wear face coverings when moving around indoors.

The move comes following the county's move into tier 2 'High' level pandemic restrictions on Saturday (17 October). Schools have also been asked to revisit their risk assessments to see if these need to be upgraded in any way.

MALDON district is one of five areas in Essex to have shown a small decrease in the rate of Covid-19 infections as of Saturday, 17 October.

The latest figures from Essex County Council show the district bucked the trend with a rate of confirmed positive cases per 100,000 of 47.7, set against 55.4 on 14 October. Some areas showed a steep climb in cases, including Basildon, up from 75.3 to 94 per 100,000, Colchester, which moved from 58 to 70.9 and Harlow, leaping to 70.1 from 54 per 100,000.

AS the district has now moved into Tier 2 'High' level pandemic restrictions, Maldon's volunteer service is reminding residents that help is at hand if they need it.

With Essex moving into the new level of Covid alert on Saturday (17 October), the advice to people who previously shielded is to limit contact with others as much as possible.

Maldon Nub News has been bringing local history stories to readers for the past eight weeks now and we really hope you've been enjoying them.

So just in case you've only just started reading these – and to bring you a little something extra as the days get colder and it's time to hunker down – here are all eight stories so far, available here to take you off for a while into the Maldon's historic past.

Hospital patients from Maldon district could be set to benefit from faster test results - thanks to the use of drones.

Broomfield Hospital is trialling the use of drones to fly samples round its grounds in a bid to speed up test turnaround times in a six-month trial funded by the UK Space Agency..

A brand new music station dedicated to Maldon and the surrounding towns and villages launches at 6am tomorrow (19 October), with a little help from legendary broadcaster Radio Caroline.

Caroline Community Radio goes live with a 24-hour mix of music and community programmes. The station will broadcast to the Maldon District on 94.7 FM and across the UK and worldwide online here.

Maldon's Totally Locally Fiver Fest continues through this weekend until Saturday, October 24 - so you still have time to grab a bargain!

Maldon Nub News has listed all the deals for you, so take a look here:

A mother from Maldon whose son who died while in the care of Essex Mental Health Services will have her bid for a public inquiry debated in Parliament next month.

On November 30, Parliament will debate Melanie Leahy's petition for a public inquiry into the death of her son, Matthew Leahy who died aged 20 while in the care of the Linden Centre in Chelmsford.

A NEW history of Tiptree is being launched tomorrow (Saturday, 17 October) by a local author who published her last history of the village more than 20 years ago.

The new book, entitled 'Tiptree, Still a Village?' is being self-published by Elaine Bamford – the leader of Maldon District Council.